Week 6 preview: Unlikely unbeatens, marquee QB battles and quotes of the week
If you were asked in August to pick five teams that would be undefeated at this point, you’d probably be quick to name the traditional powerhouses: Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan, USC, Alabama. And you’d be wrong on Alabama. But you get the point.
Who in the world thought Louisville, Maryland, Kentucky, Missouri and Washington State all would be unbeaten now? Sure, maybe one or two because of the early-season schedule. But not all the wins were expected — who thought Kentucky would wallop Florida?
Those teams put their perfect records on the line in Week 6, which features the biggest battle of 5-0 teams with No. 12 Oklahoma facing No. 3 Texas in Saturday’s Red River Rivalry.
Our reporters preview Week 6 with a look at the surprising undefeated teams and quarterback matchups to watch, plus some of the week’s best quotes.
Surprise! Look who’s still undefeated
Louisville: When Louisville hired native son Jeff Brohm, you could feel the excitement build not only among the fan base but among the football program. He then overhauled the roster and brought in several key transfers who have paid off in big ways, starting with quarterback Jack Plummer, who played for him at Purdue. Plummer ranks No. 3 in the ACC in passing, no surprise considering Brohm’s background and history, and transfer Jamari Thrash ranks No. 2 in the league in receiving. Perhaps the biggest revelation has been the Cardinals’ rushing offense behind Jawhar Jordan, who leads the league with 510 yards and six touchdowns. Defensively, transfers Devin Neal (Baylor) and Cam’Ron Kelly (UNC), tied for second on the team with 24 tackles, have been big additions, too. But returner Ashton Gillotte has taken the next step with five sacks.
Brohm described his team’s 13-10 win over NC State last week as his defense’s best performance of the season. But it will take a complete team effort to beat Notre Dame and end the Irish’s 30-game regular-season winning streak against the ACC.
“We’ve done just enough to win five games,” Brohm told ESPN. “And we’ve shown some toughness and some grit to come back and win a few, so that’s been really good to see, our guys play that hard. To this point, everything’s been good. I know as a coach that our schedule will just continue to get tougher and tougher, and we’re going to have challenges ahead, starting this week.” — Andrea Adelson
Maryland: Winners of its first five games in a season for the first time since Ralph Friedgen coached the program to the ACC title in 2001, Maryland heads into a major spotlight Saturday when it visits the Horseshoe to tangle with No. 4 Ohio State. Taulia Tagovailoa spearheads a Terrapins offense that leads the Big Ten in total offense (454.8 YPG) while sitting behind only Penn State in scoring offense (38.6 PPG). Tagovailoa, who tops the conference with both 1,464 passing yards and 13 touchdown passes, has three games of at least three touchdown tosses, led by last week’s 352-yard, five-touchdown effort in a 44-17 dispatching of Indiana. Led by Jeshaun Jones‘ 19 receptions, six receivers have caught at least 11 passes and eight players have found the end zone, as Tagovailoa has done a stellar job of spreading the wealth and not letting opposing defenses key on one player. Defensively, Brian Williams’ unit has forced 10 turnovers combined over the past three weeks in convincing victories over Virginia, Michigan State and Indiana. It faces its stiffest challenge yet with a Buckeyes offense itching to sustain momentum from their win in South Bend on Sept. 23. — Blake Baumgartner
Kentucky: The schedule has been more than manageable, and even the most blue-hearted Kentucky fan would acknowledge as much. Three of the Wildcats’ wins have come over teams (Ball State, Akron and Vanderbilt) with a combined 4-12 record, and a fourth win came over FCS foe Eastern Kentucky. That’s not to diminish the fact the Wildcats are doing the things it takes to win at a high level, in particular running the ball, stopping the run, eliminating explosive plays and forcing turnovers. They’re averaging 6.48 yards per rush (second nationally) and limiting opponents to 2.54 yards per rush (eighth nationally). Ray Davis, a transfer from Vanderbilt, rushed for 280 yards last week in the 33-14 win over Florida, the most rushing yards by an FBS player this season. Kentucky dominated the line of scrimmage, as quarterback Devin Leary attempted just 19 passes, completing nine for 69 yards. He’s a better passer than he’s shown to this point and will have to make more plays down the field in the passing game if the Wildcats are going to keep it going, and that starts Saturday against No. 1 Georgia. Leary’s top two receiving targets, Tayvion Robinson and Barion Brown, left the Florida game in the second half with injuries. Their status is up in the air. Some younger receivers may need to step up, but the Wildcats are going to need more out of their passing game as they tackle an October stretch that includes Georgia on the road and then Missouri and Tennessee at home. — Chris Low
Missouri: The short version for why Mizzou is 5-0 is simple: Brady Cook to Luther Burden III. But here’s the longer version. The Tigers began the season with wins over South Dakota and MTSU, but the offense disappointed terribly in the process. The Tigers averaged 4.9 yards per play against MTSU, worse than Murray State (5.7) and everyone else on the Blue Raiders’ schedule, and a couple of fourth-and-short punts both revealed Eliah Drinkwitz’s general lack of confidence and nearly proved costly in the 23-19 win. But the frustration emanating from that evidently lit a fire. The Tigers scored at least 30 points in wins over Kansas State, Memphis and Vanderbilt — all teams better than MTSU — in recent weeks. And Cook has been one of the best QBs in the country in the process, averaging 364 passing yards per game with eight TDs. He’s set an SEC record for consecutive passes without an interception, and he’s thriving both because of Burden, the nation’s leading receiver, and because other targets like Theo Wease (118 yards vs. Vanderbilt) have begun to thrive. The Tigers’ defense is still a top-30 or so unit, and suddenly the offense is dynamite. And now they return home to host an LSU team that is equal parts dangerous and flawed. — Bill Connelly
Washington State: With half the Pac-12 ranked in the top 18 of the AP poll, the Cougars remain under the radar despite climbing from unranked to No. 13. Yet, when laying out the best wins by Pac-12 teams, it’s the Cougars — Wisconsin, Oregon State — who stand out. Both of those win margins were by single digits, but WSU controlled both games and has impressed on both sides of the ball. There is a lot of credit to spread around, but it begins with quarterback Cam Ward. In new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle’s offense, Ward has made significant strides to become one of the best quarterbacks in the country. He’s accurate, he makes good decisions, and he’s playing with a general sense of calm that evaded him at times last year. Plus, the additions of Josh Kelly and Kyle Williams at receiver have given him a deep, talent group of receivers, joining Lincoln Victor. This is a team without a major problem area, which makes it a tough out each week. — Kyle Bonagura
QB battles: Who has the better day?
Sam Hartman (Notre Dame) vs. Jack Plummer (Louisville)
It might be easy to pick Plummer based on what happened last season alone. Hartman, playing for Wake Forest, had the worst game of his career at Louisville — throwing three interceptions, losing three fumbles and taking seven sacks in a 48-21 loss. He was benched to start the fourth quarter in a game Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson called a “disaster.” But Hartman is in a different spot now with the Irish — and a different offense that is not asking him to put as much on his shoulders as he did at Wake. His late-game heroics last week against Duke led Notre Dame to a 21-14 comeback victory. Meanwhile, Plummer faced all sorts of pressure from the NC State defense a week ago and did not play his best game, throwing two interceptions and getting sacked four times. Expect Notre Dame to bring the same type of pressure as NC State did, and Hartman to have a much better performance than a year ago. — Adelson
Quinn Ewers (Texas) vs. Dillon Gabriel (Oklahoma)
Gabriel notably missed this game last year due to a concussion, leading to disaster for Oklahoma. Five different players attempted a pass, including two running backs and a punter, as the Sooners managed just 39 passing yards in a historic 49-0 blowout loss, the worst in any game in school history. But this season, he’s leading the Big 12 in QBR, with Ewers second. Gabriel is third nationally with eight completions of 40 or more yards, while Ewers has been inconsistent on deep balls, though he’s improved in that area. Both defenses have taken huge steps this season, but Gabriel has been more consistent and will be asked to do more. In what could end up as another Texas-OU shootout, Gabriel likely will have the better numbers. — Dave Wilson
Taulia Tagovailoa (Maryland) vs. Kyle McCord (Ohio State)
McCord finished the Notre Dame game on an encouraging note, but Tagovailoa had five touchdown passes last week and eight in his first two Big Ten games. Maryland’s receiving corps doesn’t generate the attention Ohio State’s does, but there’s real depth with Tai Felton and West Virginia transfer Kaden Prather emerging alongside Jeshaun Jones. “Very similar to when I was at Alabama, I had [Henry] Ruggs and [Jerry] Jeudy] and [Jaylen] Waddle and Smitty [DeVonta Smith],” Terrapins coach Mike Locksley told me. “Your offense is more dynamic when the ball is spread around.” — Adam Rittenberg
Devin Leary (Kentucky) vs. Carson Beck (Georgia)
Leary, who passed for 6,807 yards during his career at NC State, is due for a breakout game. He’s thrown 10 touchdown passes and five interceptions in his first five outings for Kentucky, which really hasn’t needed to throw the ball much. The Wildcats could be short-handed at receiver with Tayvion Robinson and Barion Brown both being banged up, and that won’t help matters against a Georgia defense that has already intercepted eight passes and is tied for third nationally in allowing just 4.8 yards per pass attempt. Carson Beck, in his first season as Georgia’s starter, is completing 72 percent of his passes and averaging right at 300 passing yards per game. The Bulldogs got star tight end Brock Bowers going in the win over Auburn last week, and that’s a connection that gives Beck (and any quarterback) the edge. — Low
Notable quotes
Billy Napier: The Florida coach was blunt when it came to assessing his team’s 33-14 drubbing by Kentucky.
“There is no sugarcoating this thing. We have no excuse. We can coach better and we can play better. Hopefully, we will do that.”
Deion Sanders: There’s no question that celebrity has surrounded the Buffaloes, and the coach was more than happy to help Snoop Dogg deliver a message to Omarion Miller, who caught seven passes for 196 yards in Colorado’s Week 5 loss to USC.
“A dear friend called me and summoned me to get him on the phone to FaceTime. [He] wanted to talk to him and wanted to let him know that he has a tremendous gift. I don’t know what the conversation was, but I know I just handed him the phone. I said, ‘Somebody wants to talk to you.’ He looked at the phone like, ‘Oh my god.’ Yeah, it was Snoop. Snoop wanted to talk to [Miller]. He wanted to challenge him.”
Dave Clawson: The Wake Forest coach, whose team plays at Clemson on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, ACC Network), hasn’t forgotten last year’s 2OT loss to the Tigers.
“There are certain games in your career you never, ever get over. That’s one of them. When I’m on my deathbed, that game will still bother me. Hopefully, our players feel the same way.”
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David Hale
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duke defensive end Wesley Williams said he heard the refrain throughout the run-up to Saturday’s ACC championship game: A Blue Devils win would be “a doomsday scenario.”
At 7-5 and unranked, Duke arrived in Charlotte with a chance to win the conference and, in doing so, knock the ACC out of the College Football Playoff entirely, with two teams from the Group of 5 — Tulane and James Madison — potentially making it instead.
Well, doomsday has arrived, thanks to a series of fourth-down calls by Duke coach Manny Diaz, including one in overtime that resulted in the game-deciding touchdown in a 27-20 Blue Devils victory over No. 17 Virginia.
“Coach Diaz said this week, ‘If you think people hate Duke now, just wait until we win the ACC,'” Williams said.
The ACC’s fifth tiebreaker — combined win percentage of conference opponents — sent Duke to the league’s title game from among five teams tied for second place in the standings, including No. 12 Miami, a team on the fringe of an at-large CFP bid that could have benefited significantly from an extra game to wow the selection committee.
Instead, it was Duke that got the chance to avenge a Nov. 15 loss to Virginia and make its own case for playoff inclusion.
“I’m not going to take anything away from James Madison,” Diaz said. “They had a really great season. … The Sun Belt has been a really good conference in years past, but most of their top teams are having a down year. So when you start comparing strength of schedule — you can’t just look at wins and losses. It’s who you play against. That’s the whole point of playing a Power 4 schedule. There’s a reason all these coaches are all leaving for Power 4 jobs. There’s recognition that’s where the best competition is.
“The ACC champion should go to the College Football Playoff this year and every year. And we’ll be very excited to see how they rule on that tomorrow.”
James Madison coach Bob Chesney has accepted the head coaching position at UCLA, but he is expected to stay with the Dukes through any potential playoff run.
The Dukes finished the season 12-1 but lost their lone game against a Power 4 foe, Louisville, in September. James Madison beat Troy 31-14 on Friday to win the Sun Belt championship.
James Madison athletic director Matt Roan offered a counterpoint, noting that Dukes quarterback Alonza Barnett III was just coming back after a long-term injury and the Dukes still played Louisville close before losing 28-14.
“The next week, we started what is now the second-longest winning streak in the country,” Roan said. “This team is clicking since that time and separated itself as one of the five best conference champions in the country after winning the Sun Belt. JMU led the nation in wins over bowl-eligible teams with seven, matching Indiana and Ohio State. We can score points and stop points with anyone in the country. Our second halves, and fourth quarter in particular, have been untouchable. Who you play matters, but more important is how you play. Our players and our coaches have been elite all season and are deserving of this opportunity.”
James Madison was No. 25 in the most recent CFP rankings. Duke was unranked.
Diaz said after Saturday’s win, however, that the committee now has a more complete body of work to consider.
According to ESPN’s metrics, James Madison has the No. 18 strength of record but the No. 123 strength of schedule. Duke entered Saturday’s game with the No. 59 strength of record and No. 74 strength of schedule. Two of the Blue Devils’ losses were to teams outside the Power 4: playoff hopeful Tulane and 9-3 UConn.
“Having been on the selection committee, I understand it’s complicated,” Duke athletic director Nina King said. “I think we’re deserving when you look at some of these numbers like strength of schedule, number of Power 4 teams we’ve played and won. I think we’re deserving, but I fully appreciate the challenge [for the committee].”
The ACC’s doomsday scenario was in some ways more of a “Mission: Impossible.” After Duke lost to Virginia in Week 11, the Blue Devils were +1800 to win the conference and, according to ESPN’s FPI, had a 3.8% chance of winning the ACC.
Now, the conference will wait for the committee to deliver a verdict on both Duke and Miami on Sunday. The Hurricanes are 10-2 but have consistently been ranked behind several other two-loss teams, including Notre Dame, a team they beat in Week 1.
“Miami should get in,” Diaz said after Saturday’s win. “The head-to-head should matter. And so should we, because we’re the conference champion.”
ACC commissioner Jim Phillips argued the same before Saturday’s kickoff, but he declined to comment after Duke’s win over Virginia that might have left the conference with no playoff bids.
The doomsday scenario for the ACC, however, could just as easily turn into a boon with two teams in, should the committee buy into Duke’s sales pitch. Blue Devils linebacker Luke Mergott, who hauled in the championship-clinching interception in overtime, believes it will.
“We represent the ACC, and the ACC is a respected conference,” Mergott said. “I think we’ll be in, and I’m confident our name will be called.”
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Adam Rittenberg
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana assistant coach Ola Adams put his hands on his head in disbelief as confetti fell and the crowd roared at Lucas Oil Stadium.
But the scene unfolding before Adams on Saturday night was very believable. Since the moment coach Curt Cignetti swaggered onto campus two years earlier and outlined a success plan for the losingest program in college football, Indiana has been climbing.
On a magical night 50 miles from their home stadium, the Hoosiers reached the top, outlasting Ohio State 13-10 in a Big Ten championship game that matched the nation’s top two teams, both undefeated. Indiana beat No. 1 to become No. 1.
“We’re going to go in the playoffs as the No. 1 seed,” Cignetti said. “A lot of people probably thought that wasn’t possible.”
The milestones achieved are seemingly endless. The Hoosiers won their first Big Ten championship since 1967 and their first outright title since 1945. They beat Ohio State for the first time since 1988, ending a 32-game losing streak. And quarterback Fernando Mendoza likely clinched the school’s first Heisman Trophy with several heroic throws, rallying his team from a 10-3 deficit.
“It shows everybody: Why not? Why would you not want to come to Indiana?” linebacker Isaiah Jones said. “For any of the doubters out there, this kind of was the final nail in the coffin for any of the Indiana doubters, the Curt Cignetti doubters, the Hoosier doubters.
“This was the last thing that needed to be proved, and we did it.”
Indiana beat a top-ranked team for the first time in 17 tries, holding Ohio State scoreless for the final 40:08 and twice turning away the Buckeyes inside the 10-yard line.
“As a basketball manager, Keith Smart’s shot that won the national championship [in 1987],” Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson, who worked under coach Bob Knight for that title team, told ESPN. “This is right up there with that. This is a big moment.”
Cignetti guided the Hoosiers to a team-record 11 wins in his debut season, but when Indiana faced Ohio State, the eventual national champion, and Notre Dame, the eventual runner-up, its deficiencies were exposed in double-digit losses. Although Indiana faced a tougher regular-season schedule this fall, recorded a signature road win against Oregon and had shown clear improvement in several areas, it still entered Saturday’s game as the underdog.
But the Hoosiers (13-0) were better at the line of scrimmage, recording five sacks against an Ohio State team (12-1) that had allowed six the entire regular season. Facing Heisman Trophy contenders in quarterback Julian Sayin and wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, Indiana’s defense never yielded, making several memorable plays, including linebacker Rolijah Hardy‘s end zone pass deflection to prevent the go-ahead touchdown with 2:51 to play.
“We envisioned it,” defensive lineman Tyrique Tucker said. “We felt like we needed to handle business, especially due to last year. We felt like we had to finish some things and we had some unfinished business.”
Cignetti and his players thought that if they could keep the game close late, they would have an edge. Indiana rallied late to beat Iowa and Penn State and pulled away from Oregon with the score tied early in the fourth quarter. Ohio State, meanwhile, had not faced a second-half deficit this season until Mendoza found Elijah Sarratt for a 17-yard score with 8:02 to play in the third quarter.
“That’s what we dwell on, like, we come out and we take on a challenge,” said cornerback D’Angelo Ponds, who was matched up against Smith in man coverage throughout the game. “They haven’t been challenged all year. … We challenged them.”
Mendoza’s night began with a massive hit by Ohio State’s Caden Curry that left him writhing on the turf and forced him to miss a play. He also threw an interception that led to Ohio State’s only touchdown. But Mendoza steadied himself, even without top wideout Omar Cooper Jr., and found Charlie Becker for completions of 51 and 33 yards, the latter on third-and-6 in the final minutes.
Indiana fans gathered in the north end of the stadium chanted “Heis-Mendoza!” as Mendoza received game MVP honors.
“I don’t want to go in deep depth with the Heisman, but I remember Coach Cignetti brought me in, I think it was after UCLA, and he told me, ‘Hey, the Heisman’s a team game, it’s a team award. It’s not a player award. And if you win, then you can get nominated for it,'” Mendoza said. “Hopefully, I would love the opportunity to get the invite to New York, which would be fantastic.”
The Heisman ceremony awaits Mendoza next week, and Indiana will prepare for its first trip to the Rose Bowl since the 1967 season. But no one associated with the program will forget what happened Saturday night, just a few dozen miles from campus.
“It was just a dream come true,” Ponds said. “It actually didn’t feel real. We believed in ourselves, and we went out there and executed. It all just came together.”
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